Museum Tower is walking to the sky and beginning to interfere with James Turrell’s Tending, (Blue). So the Nasher has closed the installation in its garden. Peter Simek has details and pics on FrontRow. But as I said over on that post, I think the Nasher is being shortsighted about this.
They’ve closed Tending to mollify Turrell, but seeing the pictures on FrontRow actually makes me want to go visit the installation. When Museum Tower is finished, it will clearly destroy what Turrell intended. But right now the tower is like a giant, living Alexander Calder mobile. Men are crawling all over it, that crane is swinging around, unpredictably entering the view from the Tending aperture.
Come on, Nasher. We want to watch.
5 comments
It’s a point of contention in the art world, but I generally support the idea that an artist has the moral (though not legal) right to determine how their art is displayed – especially in an installation piece like this. Turrell obviously feels that an important part of his piece is the square of open sky. Lacking that, he’d rather not have it displayed. Hopefully Nasher and he can come up with some arrangment.
Personally, however, I agree with Tim. I see the urban, outdoor context of Tending (Blue) as including a changing skyline that will affect how you experience it from both the outside and inside. I’d love to watch construction on Museum Tower wiggle on through that hatch.
Time lapse camera in Tending (Blue)?
So on the one hand, we’re taking the DMA to task for things like removing Stake Hitch and not removing the Chapman Kelley piece, against the wishes of the artists. At the same time, we’re advocating that the Nasher leave Tending, (Blue) open, despite the artists wishes?
Odd, that.
@Erm: I’m advocating leaving “Tending” open as long as Museum Tower is under construction, as long as it’s changing. To me, that seems in keeping with Turrell’s design. Kinda. But as soon as the tower becomes static, then, yeah, we got ourselves a problem.
But if that isn’t what the artist wants, if he doesn’t see it as “keeping with his design”, and we’re going to admonish the DMA for not respecting artists rights, then isn’t that hypocritical?